The best of VOD

Saint-Jérôme

This socially-driven film explores the impact of technological changes on the city of Saint-Jérôme, which faced a severe socio-economic crisis in the 1960s, mirroring issues in other Quebec cities. Citizens from all social classes come together in a monumental effort to address the crisis. The film serves as both a reflection of this situation and a catalyst for action, acting as a mediation to...

Rumba Rules, New Genealogies

Immersing itself in the daily life of one of the great orchestras of the current generation, this film proposes an incursion into the arcanes of a monumental genre of African music. Ya Mayi, Lumumba, Xéna La Guerrière, Pitchou Travolta, Alfred Solo, Soleil Patron and many others: nearly thirty artists feed the creative life of the Brigade Sarbati Orchestra. By entering the group and the city of...

Everything You Have Is Yours

NYC-based choreographer Hadar Ahuvia interrogates the roots of the Israeli folk dances she grew up dancing with her mother in the US. Facing romanticized stories about her grandparents, settlers in Palestine in the 1930s, she begins a personal endeavor to confront the founding mythologies and transgressions of Zionism. A web of artistic portraits emerges—Jewish, Israeli, and Palestinian dancers...

La suite canadienne

In 1958, Ludmilla Chiriaeff's ballet _Suite canadienne_ was broadcast during the concert hour on Radio-Canada. This piece, now considered foundational for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, features dancers dressed as peasants in the settings of a fantasized colonial rurality. The discovery of this archival document is the starting point for the creation project led by amateur dancer and saxophonist...

Budapest Silo

József works at the largest still-operational grain silo in Budapest. He has been doing this job for over 30 years and lives in a container home next to the structure, where trucks and trains rumble past his window. When he is lowered into the ten-story-deep silos to clean them, he looks like a scuba diver at work. It’s dangerous work for József, especially because he has been exposed to crop d...

The Last Bolshevik

Based on the life and work of the Russian film director Alexander Medvedkin (1900-1989), _The Last Bolshevik_ is a tribute from one filmmaker to another. An archeological expedition into film history that reveals new cinematic treasures, the film prompts a reflection on the relation between art and politics in the former Soviet Union.

This Is No Time for Romance

In the midst of summer pleasures and her children's play, a young woman questions the meaning of her life as a wife and mother, and her chances of happiness. Filmed in the 1960s, this film starring Monique Mercure and Marc Favreau depicts the "female condition" from various perspectives.

Old Age and Hope

When old age inflicts physical and sometimes mental decay, is there a way to remain hopeful towards life and its mysteries? This documentary tackles this question by challenging not only specialists such as geriatricians, gerontologists, psychologists, and philosophers but first and foremost the elderly themselves.

An Ecology of Hope

A portrait of Pierre Dansereau, a renowned Quebecois professor, scientist, humanist, and ecologist celebrated globally for his groundbreaking research on ecosystems. This film takes us on a global journey, exploring diverse landscapes from Baffin Island and Gaspésie to Brazil and the metropolis of New York.

Joseph Samuel Jacques Julien

Jacques is 59 years old and has spent his entire career as a salesman in Quebec City. The past few months have been especially challenging for him: mourning the loss of his wife, he finds it difficult to regain his footing. Should he change his life? Change his identity? Amidst a growing political turmoil, the narrator remains hopeful, insisting that Jacques still has reason to hope.

Idle Times

Beginning in the late 19th century, the history of baseball tells the story of the transformation of pastures and mindsets in North America. Slow and repetitive, the game makes ample room for daydreaming and boasting. Full-bodied and mannered, it evokes the vastness of a new continent while also recalling its British origins. Filmed at the Victoria Stadium in Quebec and developed with the colla...

Rumba Rules, New Genealogies

Immersing itself in the daily life of one of the great orchestras of the current generation, this film proposes an incursion into the arcanes of a monumental genre of African music. Ya Mayi, Lumumba, Xéna La Guerrière, Pitchou Travolta, Alfred Solo, Soleil Patron and many others: nearly thirty artists feed the creative life of the Brigade Sarbati Orchestra. By entering the group and the city of...